DVD Patcher

Welcome to the DVDPatcher homepage.  This is a new program and while so far there is not much information on this page hopefully it is enough to allow you to use DVDPatcher.

Your Problem: You have a DVD that you want to copy, maybe it won't play in parts but your computer can't copy it. Maybe it is scratched or has other physical problems.  For all that most of the DVD is OK but if it weren't for just a few bad spots on the DVD all would be fine....

A Solution: With DVDPatcher and a little help from your friends maybe you can find some replacement data for the bad bits and fix the bad files. Of Course no program can recover data that is physically unreadable but DVDPatcher can copy the good data off the disc by skipping the bad bits until it comes to more good data. This may give you movie files that are playable but have Video and audio dropouts where the data on the disc is bad.  This may be acceptable to you and the DVD you burn may play better that the original damaged DVD. This is because your player will not get caught up trying to recover bad data using it's CRC error correcting capabilities but will just play on. But with help from someone else with the same DVD you can replace your bad data with good data from them and write a new good DVD. If you've used DVDDecrypter or ImgBurn or ISOBuster to copy data off bad discs you will already understand these ideas.

Play it Cool. The best advice I can give you if you have read errors on a DVD is to try copying or reading it when you computer is cool, the first thing you do after you switch it on. Why: Well general computer heat and the heat in the CD drive from the laser and motor all contribute to making it harder to distinguish between electronic signal and noise. This is normally not a problem but when a section of the DVD is hard to read correctly it just makes it harder. Playing you DVD when cooler gives a clearer electronic signal and hence a better read.  You may get lucky and get an error free read but you will probably get a read with less errors and hence a better more watchable file transferred to your hard disc.

How To Use DVDPatcher.

Step 1(You). Run it and it copies what it can from the DVD to your hard disc- a bit like ImgBurn or DVDDecryptor can do but it also makes a list of the sectors it can't copy.

Step 2 (a Friend). You find someone with the exact same DVD Email them the list and they run the program to make a file of the missing DVD data. They Email it back to you.

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Step 3 (You). You run the program again to patch the data into the files you saved on your hard disc.

Step 4 (You) Burn a new good DVD.

Finding someone with the exact same DVD may be a challenge but for those who trade in the area of 'Bootlegs' or uncopyrighted music and concert DVD's there are various forums and bands site where you may contact the right people.

DVDPatcher Help and FAQ: Coming one day soon.

Download the latest version of DVDPatcher for Windows XP and later (although it probably works on NT and 2000 but I haven't tested it, Reading the DVD with errors definitely won't work on 98/ME but steps 2 and 3 for recovering good data and patching it should). All you do is download the program and run, no install required.

Problems, Suggestions etc:  This is a new program and no software is ever bug free.  Not all features are implemented yet and code such as that to validate user input is not always there.  Bug reports and suggestions

Donate! DVDPatcher is provided as freeware for personal not for profit use. My wife has been know to complain about the time I spend on these little projects. You donate -> I buy her chocolate -> she's happy -> I'm happy -> I can spend more time on this project -> you're happy.  Obviously if you are the person supplying the patch data I wouldn't expect you to donate. At this stage I haven't set up anything sophisticated but you can send money to my personal Paypal account by going to the Paypal Send Money page and entering my email address: alec ford at paradise dot net dot nz (remove the blanks and change the obvious).  You don't need a Paypal account, credit cards accepted although much less than $5 and you're supporting Paypal more than me. If you use DVDPatcher in a work situation to save you $$$ then a $10 donation per patcher would be a bargain to you.

For the technically Minded:  DVD doesn't use any low level operations like DVDDecrypter or ImgBurn etc. It is uses the standard Windows read functions and responds to read errors but keeping on reading the next bit of data on the disc.

Disclaimer: Use at your own risk, DVDPatcher is supplied with absolutely no warranty and with no liability accepted on my part for and loss or damage caused by it's use blah blah blah.

Last Updated 26 Feb 2008